Alex manouevres Mike’s club further away from him on the takeaway to help create more width

In phase three, Mike turned his attention to fitness, looking to build on some of the Theraband exercises Alex introduced during his lesson. “The stretching work with the Theraband has really helped,” Mike told Alex, “not so much in terms of scores yet, but I’m definitely hitting it further off the tee and am hitting my irons better as a result of improved flexibility.”

Alex expanded on the Theraband work he had introduced Mike to during his initial lesson

“I think the important thing about fitness is understanding that sometimes our body limits how we can swing the golf club,” Alex explained. “If you’ve got a shoulder injury, for example, it may limit your ability to release the club. It’s about understanding what stretches and mobility exercises we can actually do to improve our body, and hopefully the way we swing.

“You don’t have to swing it or be like Brooks Koepka, but rather in the best physical shape for you so you can swing it the best you can. It’s understanding the limitations of your body and how you can improve things a little to find those marginal gains on the course.”

Mike worked on dumbbell deadlifts to strengthen his glutes and hamstrings and improve his golf swing posture

You can watch demonstrations of the specific exercises Mike worked on with Alex in the video accompanying this story.